WASHINGTON, DC: The American Conservative Union, Club for Growth and Eagle Forum launched an advertising campaign today against GOP patent legislation (HR-9) that will harm American inventors and small business, while giving a “big assist to China” in the global marketplace.

“The patent legislation working its way through Congress is harmful to American innovation, inventors and small businesses. HR-9 weakens patents and property rights as guaranteed in our Constitution. And it gives a big assist to China in the global marketplace,” said Dan Schneider, Executive Director of the American Conservative Union. “We’ve yet to see any of President Obama’s massive overhaul proposals to produce good results. We don’t think this latest effort will be any better than Obamacare,” he added.

The groups’ ad campaign begins Monday with full-page ads in both The Washington Post and The Washington Times along with a comprehensive digital advertising campaign throughout the week. A vote on HR-9 is expected in the House the week of July 20th. Even if passed the bill faces a steep challenge in the Senate.

“Our economy is still struggling. We have had one of the worst post recession recoveries in American history and we continue to teeter on the brink of another recession. The American people need Congress to promote and pass pro-growth policies that help American innovation, not harm it. This legislation is anti-growth and stifles innovation. The timing could not be worse,” said David McIntosh, President of the Club for Growth. “The American people did not give the GOP a majority in both Houses of Congress in 2014 so they could pass laws that harm American ingenuity and economic growth,” he added.

“This legislation undermines the Constitutional rights of American inventors and is destructive to future innovation. HR-9 helps China and hurts the United States, and the many innovators who continue to invent life saving products and devices. China’s weak patent system has led to rampant abuse and stealing of many American inventions. The GOP is pushing legislation that weakens our patent system and emulates China’s. This is both bad policy and bad politics,” said Phyllis Schlafly, Founder and President of Eagle Forum.

H.R.9 is bad patent legislation. It treats universities, inventors and researchers as “trolls.” It undermines American property rights set forth in Article 1 of the Constitution. And most harmfully, the bill could block patent holders from directly going after infringers who copy their inventions, making it virtually impossible to stop foreign knockoffs from China and elsewhere. Help keep our country’s competitive edge intact.

Founded in 1964, the American Conservative Union (ACU) is the original conservative organization in the nation. For more than fifty years, ACU has served as an umbrella organization harnessing the collective strength of conservative organizations fighting for Americans who are concerned with liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense. As America's premier conservative voice, ACU is the leading entity in providing conservative positions on issues to Congress, the Executive Branch, State Legislatures, the media, political candidates, and the public.
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